The alternate route went through the center of town, using the main roads and side streets wide enough for them to pass safely. These streets were a lot more suitable for an ambush, though it was hoped that because these roads hadn’t been closed to the public the cats wouldn’t know they intended to use them.
They were wrong. The convoy was about a third of the way along this new route when the cats struck again. Three parked cars suddenly sprang to life and then sped at their maximum acceleration towards the lead tank. One of the three came from directly ahead of the tank; the other two came careening out of side turnings on opposite sides of the road that the tank had just passed.
The crew of Tank One soon perceived their danger. The turret turned to aim at the car coming from the front and fired a prolonged burst. The car vanished in an explosion of smoke and metal. The crew of the tank didn’t wait to observe the result of their blast, instead going right on to rotating the turret to the nearest of the other two cars. But the turret could only move so quickly, and though it wasn’t exactly sluggish, the other two cars were moving far too fast and had started from far too close for them to get a shot.
When the cars collided with Tank One, they seemed to atomize with the strength of the explosion. The windows of the nearby buildings were blown out, and the walls of the nearest buildings on either side of the road they faced were blown in and threatened to topple over into the street. A large number of cars parked nearby jumped violently, and some reached considerable heights before returning to the ground, where they landed at all sorts of odd angles. Tank One was little more than a lump of metal sitting in a large crater amidst the ash of what had once been a pair of cars. It appeared to be in one piece, but it was blackened and charred. Tank Two had been caught in the blast too and had suffered superficial damage to its front, and one of its wheels was slightly misaligned despite the fact that the caterpillar that held it appeared to be untouched.
Ash and other debris was still falling on the convoy as they stopped to take stock of the situation.
‘Car bombs?’ Gloria seemed more than a little surprised.
‘Losses?’ Charles called immediately.
‘Tank One has been totaled, and Tank Two needs to make a few minor adjustments to one of its wheel alignments and will be delayed.’
‘Any survivors from One?’ asked Charles.
‘They aren’t responding,’ Michael said, sounding very nasal; ‘if anyone did survive, their communication equipment hasn’t.’
‘Okay,’ Charles said, ‘get a meat wagon and a Med Unit up here pronto. Tell number Two to pull aside out of the way and conduct their repairs. We aren’t actually in Sou’nd yet, so it should be safe enough for them to do so. Leave them with a contingent of soldiers, though, just in case any more cats are in the area. I wish we had time to be sure. The rest of us are going on. Three is to lead the way. Two is to rejoin us as soon as they are able.’
‘We aren’t going to wait to see if anyone survived, sir?’ Gloria asked.
‘We aren’t,’ Charles confirmed. He tried not to sound cold as he spoke. ‘The soldiers should be enough to guard them while any rescue is made. We can’t wait while every damaged vehicle is checked for survivors. That’s why we have support vehicles.’
‘There’s a lot of conversation between the various vehicles, including the other tanks, sir,’ Michael reported, still sounding as if he might sneeze at any moment. ‘I think our men are quite shaken.’
‘That’s why we don’t hang around to dwell on what’s happened,’ Charles told him. ‘Now, wait until Two has gotten out of the way, and then tell Three to lead on.’
‘I’ll get right on it, sir,’ Michael replied. He finally sneezed as he turned back to the radio.
‘You were out in the rain too long; you need something for that cold,’ Gloria commented. Charles wondered if she was trying to change the subject for their benefit or for her own.
‘I’ll be all right,’ Michael replied, though he didn’t sound it.
‘Good news, sir,’ Oliver spoke suddenly. He was peering out of one of the gun scopes, and from the tone of his voice was obviously trying to inject some good humor into the situation. ‘If anything good could come of this.’
‘What’s that?’ Charles asked. He had just lost one part of his main strike force and was feeling that whatever motives Oliver might have for his joviality, this wasn’t the time for it.
‘That broadcast unit on our tank seems to have decided that they are too exposed to possible danger and have gone. Hopefully they’re going back to the reporters’ van, though from the look of the convoy most of the broadcast units are scattered along the rear vehicles, trying to get the best view they can of the upcoming action. I think they are trying to keep a safe distance from the front of the convoy, anyway,’ Oliver told him.
‘I can’t see us not losing at least some of them before today is over, though,’ Michael commented nasally.
‘The cats will be careful,’ Gloria commented; she didn’t look round to speak. ‘They will want to demoralize the citizens of London as much as they can. To do this they’ll want to destroy the convoy, or at least make us pay heavily for every building we destroy. For the news of our defeat to get back to the people of London, they will want to leave the newspaper people alive. Didn’t you notice? Those snipers could’ve shot the broadcast unit off our tank easily, but instead they aimed for other targets: soldiers.’
‘Yes,’ said Oliver in reply, ‘and didn’t you notice? They missed everything.’
‘So perhaps they don’t train as we do. But let’s face it; the broadcast unit on our tank would’ve been an easy target for anyone, as would many of the others, considering where they’ve stationed themselves. I’m not saying the cats will worry if they have to kill one of two of the pressmen, but I think they’ll try and avoid doing so.’ Gloria’s attention was caught suddenly as Michael sneezed again.
‘Sir,’ Michael said just before sneezing again and then again. He then waited for a moment, making sure he had finished sneezing, before continuing, ‘Tank Three says there is a large crater in the road, and what’s left of Tank One is right in the middle of it. They say they think there’s enough room to squeeze by the wreckage, but they want to know if they shouldn’t take to the side streets instead. There’s a turning between them and the damaged tank. The turning one of the car bombs came out of.’
‘I’d love to stop the pressmen getting the picture of the burnt-out tank on their networks, especially as I feel the relatives have a right to know about their loss before it’s told to the country. But we can’t skirt the wreck without them seeing it and taking pictures of it if we stay on this road. However, if we turn off here, the tanks are still going to pass within close proximity to the wreckage and the reporters will see it anyway. I don’t think there’s anything to gain by taking a side street if we can squeeze by.’
‘Bloody vultures,’ Michael muttered, interrupting; already he sounded as if another sneeze was building up.
Charles sighed and nodded his agreement. ‘We can’t hide this as much as I’d like to. Inform Tank Three that we’re continuing on this road to Upminster with them leading the way until Tank Two catches back up with us. I think all the vehicles in the convoy can manage this crater; it doesn’t look too deep.’
The tank lurched into life as it followed Tank Three now. Gloria drove slowly as they passed the smoking remains of Tank One. From the other side they could see that the scout tank had actually been ripped open by the blast, and there was no sign of any of the crew, living or dead.
Once they were past the wreck, Charles turned to Michael, saying, ‘Inform the convoy to keep a careful lookout for more booby traps. Tell them to use their scanners to detect explosives specifically. Tell them to destroy any vehicle that looks like it might be a threat even if it doesn’t read as being laden with explosives. If the cats are willing to sacrifice themselves like that in an attempt to stop us, we’d better be ready for anything.�
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‘Assuming the cats did sacrifice themselves,’ Gloria commented. ‘The cars might’ve been radio controlled.’
‘Now, that’s a thought,’ Charles responded.
It wasn’t that much further on—in fact, it was a mere three streets later and still on the new route through to Upminster—that Tank Three stopped in its tracks and immediately made contact with Michael.
‘Sir, Tank Three has detected a car parked on one of the side roads up ahead. It seems to be laden with explosives. They say the infrared isn’t picking up anyone on the street that might be a driver, but there are people in the buildings on either side of it, any of which might house possible hostiles. They want to know what you want them to do.’
The side street he referred to was on the left hand side of the road. There were houses along that road, but on the two corners were three-storey buildings that doubled both as residences and as shops.
‘Tell them that standing orders on anything that might be dangerous to the convoy are to blow it up from as far distant as possible. I won’t risk any more tanks to carelessness or complacency,’ Charles told him curtly. ‘Those in the nearest buildings will just have to take their chances.’
Michael relayed the message. He seemed to have gotten over his bout of sneezing, but it had been replaced by intermittent sniffling, and his voice still sounded as if his nose was clogged as he spoke. ‘They say the car is parked at the edge of a side street. To get a clear shot at it would mean getting a lot closer to it, possibly close enough for it to do some real damage to them if it was suddenly detonated.’
‘Okay,’ Charles commented, thinking, ‘better tell them to stay put. Can we find any other route through to Upminster from here?’
‘I’ll check, sir,’ Michael commented as he started to check the maps that the positional satellite was supplying to them. ‘There are no possible alternatives for at least five more turnings, and even then the roads will be gridlocked.’
‘Then we’d probably best deal with the bomb.’ Charles sounded as if it was the last thing he wanted to do. ‘Okay, tell Tank Three to scan for the heat signatures of feline life forms. We know there are life forms in the shops; let’s check the rest of the area. Oliver, I want you to do likewise and see if there is anyone nearby who might be able to trigger the car bomb when we pass it. Michael, contact one of the troop transports and get it up here. We can’t just kill anyone on the off chance they might be a cat; every heat signature will have to be checked personally. We can start with the shops.’
‘I’m finding many traces,’ Oliver commented. ‘Every building in the area seems to be populated. I can’t tell if they’re human or cat, though.’
‘I was afraid of that. Our scanners won’t be of any real help here.’ Charles was checking all the cameras in order, trying to find some clue as to which buildings might be infested with cats. Not for the first time, he wished he had more of the Elite in his little force.
‘I guess we’ll have to do it the hard way,’ Oliver commented, swiveling his perch about as he checked every building in range of his equipment. Every building along this street seemed to be occupied, but which—if any—were cats, and which of them actually lived here?
Charles sighed as Oliver told him the bad news. Every building in the street might need to be checked before they could continue. Charles could feel a headache coming on as he asked, ‘Can we get a vehicle into that street from the far side?’
‘No, sir,’ Michael replied before sniffling, ‘that street has been carefully chosen; it’s a cul-de-sac. There seems to be a very narrow walkway at the far end, but it’s not wide enough to get a tank or a truck along. There is also a stone pillar to stop vehicles from using it. True, we could flatten that pillar, but it’s still too narrow for us. We could probably send some soldiers that way, drop them off at the end of the walkway and let them take out the car bomb with a rocket, but they would still be open to attack from any cats in the surrounding buildings.’
‘Ok,’ Charles said, ‘inform another troop transport…erm, let’s give the sixty-eighth something to do. Tell them to find the end of that road and await further orders. Where’s the transport I ordered to come here?’
‘They’re here, sir,’ Michael said, sniffing again. ‘They have moved alongside Tank Three and are waiting for your orders.’
‘Okay.’ Charles checked the driver’s camera so that he had the transport in sight. ‘Tell them to disembark very carefully. I have a nasty feeling that the car bomb is intended more as a lure this time. Tell them to take maximum advantage of all available cover, including the tanks and their own transports. Tell them I want every building in sight of that bomb checked as quickly as they can, but remind them that I’d rather they took all day than got careless.’
As Michael started to relay the instructions, Charles watched the events unfold on his camera. It wasn’t as mobile as some of the other cameras on the tank and had a habit of going further in one direction than he wanted, but at least he had control of it. He was also tuned into the cameras of the other three.
A moment later they were under fire. The patter of the rain on top of the tank was joined by the sound of stray gunfire as the occupants in three of the buildings, including one of the shops, opened fire on the soldiers disembarking from the troop transport. The noise increased further as the soldiers, members of the eighteenth armored support division, returned fire indiscriminately.
The three buildings all overlooked the main road through which the convoy intended to pass. The nearest of them was the shop on the corner of this street and the cul-de-sac. It was so close to the bomb that if it was triggered, it would probably take that building with it as well as the other shop on the other corner. The second building was right next door to the first and just behind it from the point of view of the convoy. The third building was across the street from the second, positioned between two other apparently neutral buildings.
‘We have three men down,’ Michael called suddenly. ‘I’ve summoned a Med Unit, but they won’t leave the relative safety of their vehicle until the enemy is dealt with.’
‘The enemy seem to be just firing wildly,’ Gloria commented. ‘Could be the rain stopping them from getting any clear shots, or it could simply be that they aren’t trained to fight in a sustained battle.’
‘Could be they’re more scared than us,’ Michael ventured quickly. He sneezed again.
‘Oliver,’ Charles called behind him, ‘no more messing around, blast them.’
The big gun fired so quickly after the order was given that Charles could only assume Oliver had already targeted the building that was currently collapsing into a pile of rubble. Due to its position on the corner of the road and the cul-de-sac, the rubble spread itself liberally across both. The rubble would cause a little bit of an annoyance to the convoy, as they would have to drive over it to continue the journey, but what was more dangerous was that bits of the building falling into the side street were hitting the car bomb as they fell.
They waited patiently in the tank, expecting a loud bang at any moment. The soldiers out in the street began pulling back to more protective cover. It seemed everyone expected the bomb to go off at any moment.
When the rubble was no longer falling quite so violently in that direction, Gloria sat up straight in her chair and commented, ‘Hope there weren’t any civilians in that shop.’
Oliver was already aligning the big gun for a blast at the second building when he said, ‘It looks like they’ve had enough; their heat signatures are scattering throughout the entire building. They’ll get away before I can line up my shot properly.’
‘I expect everyone will be trying to get to safety,’ Gloria said as she turned round toward Charles and Oliver. ‘If you had time to scan these other buildings nearby you’d probably find them already empty of heat sources. Most will probably have left when the cats opened fire on us.’
‘Fire,’ Charles ordered. He seemed to be ignoring Gloria’s c
omment as he continued, ‘You don’t have to demolish the building; just hit it before they all get out.’
The big gun fired, and the second building, the one that had been positioned behind the first, seemed to lean forward a bit as the laser blast hit it. The whole of the front of the building then seemed to peel away as if it had been unzipped. It flowed down to the road, scattering more debris across the path the convoy intended to take.
‘I can probably demolish the rest of it with another blast,’ Oliver commented, sounding unhappy that part of the target building was still standing, ‘but there’s nothing left alive in there. The other building the hostiles were using is also empty. I think it’ll be a waste of time and energy to destroy either.’
‘Okay,’ Charles ordered, ‘tell the Med Unit to get on with seeing to the wounded and summon a meat wagon only if it’s needed. Tell the soldiers to remain calm and careful. Just because some of the cats attacked and have been dealt with doesn’t mean they’ve all made themselves known. Those that escaped might regroup and try again. Also, that car bomb is still a danger while it’s there.’
Michael carried out these orders and then turned to report. ‘Tank Two reports its repairs complete and is rejoining the convoy. Do you want it back in the lead, or in the rear?’
‘Tell them I want them in their right position, and as Tank One has gone, that will be in the lead.’ Charles’ voice was still commanding; he was finally feeling the role of being in charge. ‘And find out about the Med Unit and meat wagon we left at Tank One, will you?’
‘Sorry, sir,’ Michael replied, ‘they rejoined the convoy just before the gunfire started. It was so hectic I forgot to inform you at the time. Of the four crew of Tank One, only one of them survived, and he has something like thirty percent burns. He’s already been taken to a hospital.’ Michael turned back to face his controls and continued listening to the communication between the vehicles in the convoy.
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